LETTER FROM LONDON

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1933, Page 2 (Supplement)

LETTER FROM LONDON

DOWNING STREET FOG. CABINET SECRETS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, January 5 1833. It must have astonished most business people to learn, through the recent controversy over Cabinet secrets, that Minister of the Crown until comparatively recently kept no official record of their deliberations. The practice was to place upon the Prime Minister of the day the responsibility of memorising and even interpreting what he and his colleagues of the Cabinet actually decided on any given point. But more recently all decisions have been formally recorded and filed for future reference. Certainly there will be no change made in that improved practice. In former days, under the not very old regime, it more than once happened that Ministers were quite surprised to hear, from friends or newspapers, what they were supposed to have decided. Whether it is also desirable, as at present, to record a summary of Ministers’ views is quite another story. MR. ROOSEVELT’S CAUTION. In diplomatic circles little Hope remains that anything will now transpire to the advantage of Britain on the debts question until Mr. Roosevelt goes to the White House and the new Congress assembles. The fact is that no one in close touch with Washington imagined that anything would come to the HooverRoosevelt exchanges. As an influential American put it to me, Mr. Hoover, knowing that debt revision is bound to come sooner or later, wants to be the instrument for setting the movement afoot officially in order to be able to claim some measure of credit later. Mr. Roosevelt is equally convinced that debt devision must come, but being a politician he is naturally loth to let his predecessor reap any of the credit. He wants it all himself. If Mr. Roosevelt were to initiate a debt revision movement now, before the new Congress has met, he would render himself liable to a rebuff at the hands of that body. So he is taking no risks. A “NATIONAL” LIST. How completely the new national spirit is dominating the old political party cliquishness is shown very pleasantly in the New Year Honours list. If there is anything to cavil at it can only be the length. Public service throughout is the criterion, and if the honours have been bestowed with rather more than customary lavishness, they have also sought to recognise almost every walk of life which makes for national welfare. On the political side the House of Commons will gain a Privy Councillor, two new baronets, and five knights. But at least one knighthool has gone to an “unseated” warrior in the great Labour debacle of the last election. The heavy demands which the past year of crisis made on the Civil Service have received recognition in the awards, and the list also provides the sequel to much strenuous work performed in connection with the Lausanne and Ottawa conferences. SOUTH AFRICA OFF GOLD. One thing only seems clear in regard to the political situation in South Africa, and that is, however guarded may. be the Government’s intimation, that the Dominion has severed its connection with the gold standard. The departure is good news for us, as it is bound considerably to simplify our trading relations. It, moreover, removes the greatest difficulty that lay in the way to stable exchange in commonwealth currencies Possibly, like Canada, South Africa will not immediately come on to the sterling basis. It is doubtful, however, whether circumstances w.jll permit the Union to maintain that same curious equilibrium between gold and sterling that Canada has so adroitly upheld. The relief of South African producers will be enormous, for they have been finding it hard to compete in our markets with their handicap of gold values. Curiously enough the abandonment is likely greatly to increase the output of gold from South African mines which will now fetch world market prices instead of the much lower figure arbitrarily fixed by the reserve bank. FASCISM AND UNEMPLOYMENT. In a remarkable newspaper article published in English, Mussolini salutes 1933 as a year of “great decisions.” He dismisses political and economic palliatives for Unemployment as tending to make individual and national existence eventually worse by progressive wretchedness. He demands that a fresh and invigorated international policy shall guide people to a better future instead of letting them languish in a miserable past But perhaps the most arresting statement in Mussolini’s article is a hint intended for sober consumption abroad. “With so many thorny problems pricking us on all sides,” says the Fascist chief, “the irritation would perhaps have led to armed conflicts in economically normal times." The most serious part of that piece of candid Latin philosophy is its unquestionable truth. Perhaps the economic blizzard has done more to keep the peace than Geneva. CANADA’S HUSTLE. I should hesitate about taking a job as private secretary to the Canadian Premier. During Mr. Bennett’s .recent nine-day ivisit to London, he kept forty public engagements, dined out every night, and averaged less than five hours’ sleep. They tell me his secretarial staff, even working in shifts, soon gets worn down. After the last of the banquets held in his honour, the Canadian Premier composed a message to Canadians, broadcast it at 1.30 a.m. and then settled down to serious work with his secretaries till 5 a.m. After that, dispensing with bed altogether, Mr. Bennett sat up reading till his first official callers rolled up about 8 a.m. This sort of thing recalls Le Petit Caporal himself, who, before his big Prussian campaign, worked continually night and day for two rounds of the 24-hour clock, and finished up on the third day dictating letters in a hot bath. MISLEADING WIRELESS PICTURES. The reports of the failure of the FiveYear plan and tire breakdown of Soviet supplies seems to give the lie to the hilarious welcome to the New Year sent out by Moscow, caught and canned by the 8.8. C. and transmitted an hour later to British listeners. The Soviet obviously realises to the full the enormous propaganda possibilities of radio. A roomful of well-primed joymakers, led by a military band, judiciously turned loose upon the other at the witching hour of New Year’s Eve, can give the impression of a whole nation in rapture. By relaying Moscow’s greetings to 1933, the 8.8. C. did the Soviet a service which facts and figures will nullify with difficulty. BIG GAME IN THE SOUDAN. Though the Soudan is always intensely hot the Duke of Gloucester is choosing the best season of the year for his big game expedition. The tropical swamp region that forms the southern limits of the Soudan which the Duke will doubtless visit has a tremendously heavy annual rainfall. At this time of year, however, the climate is comparatively healthy, the rainy season only setting in

during April, by ‘.which time the Duke wjll be back in England. The greater portion of the expedition, however, will be spent on the vast steppes which form a central belt between the couthprh forests and the northern desert. There, though the heat is tropical; the atmosphere is so light and invigorating as almost to warrant the Soudan to proclaim itself a health resort. The one great blemish to this region is that it swarms too much with life of every description. The huntsman who goes after lion, leopard, and giraffe has to spend much time and vigilance in outwitting the “lesser fleas” and stinging creatures that are always lurking to attack him. SIR P. SASSOON’S VERSATILITY. Sir Philip Sassoon’s appointment aS chairman of the National Gallery Board, in succession of Viscount Lee of Farham, is generally welcomed, for it is recognised on all hands that his quiet, unobtrusive demeanour masks a capacity for hard work and a real talent for organisation. Although he is probably one of the wealthiest members of the House of Commons, he is also one of the most diligent, whether as a Minister of the Crown or as a back-bencher. Public service is almost a religion with him, and despite his pre-occupation as Undersecretary for Air, he yet finds time to devote to many other tasks without neglecting his hobbies. Even if his gifts for organisation did not in themselves render him a suitable chairman for. the National Gallery Board, he would still be an admirable choice by reason of his connoisseurship of the arts. Not only is he a discerning collector, but he is a highly successful organiser of art exhibitions. BOW BELLS. ■ e ' ... Fears were lately entertained in London that the historic bells of Bow Church might never sound again. This would be a grave matter,- because to be bom within sound of Bow Bells is the traditional qualification of all true Cockneys. The native Londoner was in some danger,, one might say, of being disfranchised; but happily the peril has passed. The Bishop of London has coaxed the Ecclesiastical Commissioners into a generous frame of mind, and, with outside help, the funds have been forthcoming to put the old church into good repair again. Some time next summer we are to have a formal re-opening of the famous Bow Bells, and then tradition will once more smoothly continue. They ought to get Miss Fay Compton to perform the opening ceremony, dressed in her Dick Whittington attire, for the bells that caused that ancient London hero to turn again were those of'Bow. • SWAGER CANES. The recent R.A.F. ukase, prohibiting the carrying of swagger canes by officers and other ranks, is wrapped in mystery. To the Army swagger cane is essential. It is, or at any rate used to be, served out as part of the regular equipment. Its official utility was simple. A full private of the line, who walks out with a swagger cane, is not tempted to put his hands in his pockets, and the swagger cane is an antidote to that most unsoldierly posture. In very bitter weather the B.E.F. under training used to get over the swagger cane difficulty by plunging both hands deep into its greatcoat pockets, and allowing the silvertipped end of the swagger cane to protrude cracefully. Even then it was always possible that some extra awkward Red Cap might pull one up and make a fuss about disgraceful conduct. Perhaps airmen do not have pockets, or may be they do not feel the cold like ground soldiers. Or it may be just , an endeavour by the R.A.F. to ensure that “something different” which is just now so widely advertised. WELL-TO-DO-ANIMALS. In these days of grim unemployment it is an ironical paradox to find many animals in full-time jobs. And well paid for them, too. Thus the London Zoo elephants, which take visitors of all. ages and sizes for a stroll on their backs, earn anything up to £4OO a year each. Camels are. also performing this sort of work, and, once broken in,, are extremely docile at it. The Zoo llama is also fully occupied,' drawing a light dogcart, round the grounds, in which visitors eagerly compete for rides. The llama thinks he is doing badly if he takes less than £2O on a fine afternoon. Some London taximen, on learning this, may be inclined to wish they had been born llamas instead. There was. even one hippo on whose ample back—the hippo is practically born with a middle-aged spreadyoungsters used to ride. But he lost his job, and had to go back on the dole. That was owing to his incurable penchant for diving into water with a passenger “up.” NO BUFF FORMS. I observe it is stated, on the authority of a full Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society, that elephants have very small brains as compared with their bulk. An elephant which weighs anything up to six tons net has a brain only a little more than twice the average size of the human organ. There seems no logical or zoological reason why brain power should be reckoned in precise ratio to the total weight of the body it inhabits. Sb, admitting this hypothesis, an elephant appears to be at least twice as potentially intelligent as the average human being. A drill sergeant, who alluded to an elephant’s “four ounces,” would be asking for trouble. In support of the theory that the elephant is at least twice as clever as a man, one arresting fact may be stated. Here we have Zoo elephants admittedly earning £8 a week. But there is not one of them silly enough to make an income tax return. . EASY MONEY. A former Socialist M.P. for Glasgow, Mr, J. S. Clarke, has won a bet by taking his Christmas dinner in a lions’ cage at Olympia. I do not know who was foolish enough to make that wager with him, but he certainly did not know that Mr. Maxton’s old colleague used to be a liontamer, and toured the country with a troupe of 42 kings of the forest. I suppose Mr. Clarke must be the solitary example of a lion-tamer M.P. I have met, only one other professor of. that description in ordinary life. He was a sergeant in a Lancashire Fusilier Battalion during the war, and when the battalion heard they were getting a liontamer as their new N.C.O. it caused a mild sensation. However, the lion-tamer proved to be quite a mild-mannered N.C.O. and his personal experiences in his former metier made magnificent telling round a Western Front brazier. In my own battalion we had a conjuror, whose palming tricks enlivened many a nerve-wrecking ordeal of waiting to go over the top. GHASTLY. The latest ingenuity of science is to rope in a talking Robot for telephone purposes. We all know that fatniliar slogan, uttered in soothing feminine accents, usually, “Sorry you’ve been troubled!” We also know, to our annoyance, “Number engaged” and “Number unobtainable.” In future, these phone cliches will not even have the redeeming virtue of humanity. They are to be emitted by a rotating drum mechanism, which will operate in the right emergency quite automatically. I have never been a passionate admirer of the telephone. It seems to me to be a delusion and a snare. It saves time, but adds to labour. And these gruesome mechanical voices, which will sound with unimpassioned bloodless accuracy out of the eternal silence, only add to my dis-

enchantment. How can you argue with, or even swear at, a robot voice? SOME JOB. I like the LM.S.’s enterprise. Its latest venture in railway amenity is the creation of two new officials, one a commissionaire who is to keep sentry-go at station entrances, arid give ; informationto passengers whilst assisting with luggage problems. He is to wear a striking and distinctive uniform, I hope not less bright than that of cinema janitors, and he will, I imagine, combine the qualities of a Bradshaw, a Dates, and Mr. Hackensmith. But at least his task is precise and finite. It is to the “traveller’s friend,” another, functionary in handsome uniform, my sympathies well forth. He Nvill patrol platforms on busy days to help passengers in distress. After a full, day wrestling with’ nervous ladies who carry around parrot cages, I can see him putting in overtime sorting out the festive excursionists from North Britain after Hogmanay celebrations.